Week In Review – Still Early, Rising Stars

Looking back at the week and I feel optimistic. The Phillies lost two games this week but the hit and run production is on the rise. There are still frustrations with RISP that need to be addressed but Charlie Manuel is doing his best with lineup shake-ups to right the ship.

I’ve been preaching this all season and it still holds true; it is still very early in the season. It’s hard to take a sample of whats to come for the season. Roy Halladay is pitching very well and Shane Victorino is producing some power at the plate. Injuries are holding back this team, but a full squad could be back sooner than you think.

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Injury Updates – The end of last week Cliff Lee went on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. He joined Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, who both started the season on the DL. We have been waiting what seems like forever for these two guys to get healthy and rumor is they both might be close to coming back.

Originally Lee was only expected to miss a couple starts, and is eligible to come off the DL May 4 but Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is not sure so sure about it. According to Matt Gelb, and MRI shows a Grade 1 oblique strain which could cause the lefty to miss more starts. Time to step it up Kyle Kendrick.

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Youngsters Shining – Last night we saw the debut of Bryce Harper for the Nationals. Oakland is enjoying their own rookie Yoenis Cespedes and even the Phillies have been delighted with the defensive play of their rookie Freddy Galvis. There are a lot of young guys around the league making names for themselves.

The Phillies have a lot of players they are excited about in the farm system. Tyler Cloyd is one of those guys. A 2008 draft pick has been working his way up and continues to improve. Read more about Cloyd from Jay Floyd, PN’s minor league guy.

Lakewood’s Brian Pointer has been catching the attention the opposing teams leading the team in many offensive categories. The 28th round pick from 2010 is showing the Phillies why they choose right selecting this outfielder.

The Phillies are 10-12 on the season and sitting in fourth place in the NL East. After finishing up with the Cubs tomorrow, they will head to Atlanta then DC before heading home to face the Mets. These next three series could help give a better look at this division.